Compound for railway-signal fusees.



Ho Drawing.

UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE;

zsanonn 1113011503, or noncnns'rnn, mssacnusnrrs, assxenon 'ro Amnnrcan roe sterner. oomranror rrrrsnuso, PENNSYLVANIA.

To all whom-it may concern:

Be itknown that I, IsAnoRn NIDITCH, a. citizenof the United States, residing at Dor-' chest/er, in the county of Suffolk and State of- Massachusetts; have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Compounds for Railway-Signal Fusees, of which the ,followingis' a specification.

This invention relates to improvements iiqn acompound for railway sig a1 fusees, 't e primary object of which is to produce a compound which will! not spontaneously igniteunder the conditions towhich fusees are subjected. r

spontaneous 1 gnition.

characteristics of the chemicals of which they are composed that are found to produce to be riven or projected into the railroad bed or tie, and at its opposite end means for 'nition. Railway signal fusees are usually 1 Qt town from the rear of a moving train and are, therefore, subjected to rough usage, and

- by reason of which it is necessary to have the paper tube of sufficient strength to withstand thls use 6 without breakage.

In or or to produce a, signal fusee which is efi'ective, it is necessary that the com osition be of such a character that the we 1 of the paper tube be consumed uniformlywith the combustion of theycomposition, to pre; vent the forming ofjwhat i s known n the trade as a chimney, which will so inclo'se and obstruct the light produced by the comchlorate,-

position that it cannot be seen from such a distance as to make an eifectiyesignal. Furthermore, it is essential that the burning be of sufficient force 7 to have the effective requirements of a pro er signal, in that it must be visible a su cient distance; must,

burn in all kinds of weather and under all adverse circumstances, such as strong winds, rain sleet, snow, etc.

. "By reason ofthe necessity of burning the" tube in uniformity-withthe bu'rnin o -the composition and with "the re uired forcefall successful compositions o ,signal fujsees. known to the contain sulfurand potassium;

which. are the lfundamental ingrc v y 'Xiitrate' 85- per cent; sulfur 13; per,cent.;

ca tata-p du t arose-salts Specification of Letters Patent.

Application flled December 16, 190.9.

In all of the compositions'for railway sig- -na'l fusees known to me, there are certain carrying at one enda spi e adapted Patented Apr. 5, 1910.

Serial No. 533,374.

It has been well lrnown to those skilled in this art thatsulfur in the resence of 'heat and moisture produces sul urous and sulfuric acids, which in the" resence of potassium chlorate decompose t e latterand enerate a gas known as chlorin peroxid w ich ignites spontaneously. The formation of sulfuric acid from sulfur requires the ence of oxygen which is readily obtained from the ease with which the potassium chlorate breaksup', and in ,breaking up and llberatin the oxygen a certain quantity of heat is generated which accelerates and helps to continue the reaction, and-thus tends to a condition that induces spontaneous ignition. It is also well known to manufacturers and users of'fusees that frequently fires occur by reason of spontaneous ignition of railway signal fusee's, which in their use are of necessity subjected to both heat and moisture; that thesefires have been 'known to occur in the storehouses of railway companles; 1n the caboosos carrying these signals and, in some instances, this spontaneous ignition has occurred with the fusees carried in railway cars. This fact offspontaneous ignition of fusees has been a source of continual objection on the part of the railroad companies usinithem, and efforts have been made for years a y manufacturers to produce a signal which Wlll not be liable to spontaneous ignition, but so far as I am aware, this has not been heretofore accomplished.

In all pra tical signal fusee compositions known to "me, the largest proportion.

thereof consists of the coloring ingredients which, for cbnveniencql will term thebase, and this usually is a nltrate with strontium,- barium or calcium as the metal, and-also a. carbohydrate either in the form of sawdust,

starch or flour and usually when sawdust is used it is combined with greaseor parafiin, together with charcoal to regulate the burning, and antimony which slightly intensifies the color, in' addition to the sulfur used asrate as thefoxidizing'ageut.

' Mynew. fusee composition which removes all danger of spontaneous ignition, consists essentially of a cooring ingredient, a nietallicnitrate, combined with, Sulfur, a'carbo a'combustible material, and potassium chlocarbohydrate ,preferably reased sawdust 6 per cent, potassium perch crate ll per 001113., charcoal 1 per cent. and antimony l per cent. However the charcoal and antimony may be omitted as they are not essential to my present invention. Tests of this new composition show that fairly good results may be obtained as to proportions of the whole mixture within the following limits; nitrate may be varied by increasing about- 10 er cent. or decreasing about per cent; sul ur about 10 per cent. either way; carbohydrate about 5 per cent. either wa potassium perchlorate about 8 per cent. either Way. A signal fusee composition comprising these essentials has been found to stand tests of moisture and heat far more severe than occurs in its use, it having withstood a temperature of 3213' F. for one week with resultant charring of the paper tube and .without spontaneous ignition, whereas the fusees hitherto used spontaneously ignite in practice at ordinary climatic temperatures as previously explained. It is also wellknown that potassium chlorate and sulfur are readily exploded by friction, and signal fusee composition mixtures hcretofore used, by reason of the resence of these ingredicuts, are liable to be ignited by friction and this necessitates extreme carefulness in handling them in the process of manufacture. My new composition is not nearly so liable to ignition by friction or percussion, and therefore does not require anywhere near the same care in handling it, which makes it much safer in the process of manufacture.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. A time burning signal fusee, coi1prising a metallic nitrate, sulfur. a carbohydrate, and a perchlorate all combined in about the proportions herein specified, producing a time burning signal fusee compound burning with brilliancy and force of flame for the purpose described, and which is not subject to spontaneous mbustion.

2. A time burning signal iusec, comprising a metallic nitrate, sulfur, a carbohydrate and potassium perchlorate all combined in about the proportions herein specified, producing a time burning fusce compound with brilliancy and force of flame for the purpose described, and Which is not subject to spontaneous combustion.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses. ISADORE NIDITCH. 'Witnesses JOHN L. FLETCHER, C. R. lVnIGH'r, Jr. 

